Day 232/365- Ezekiel 16:22

"Remember the Alamo"

In all your years of adultery and detestable sin, you have not once remembered the days long ago when you lay naked in a field, kicking about in your own blood. (Ezekiel 16:22 NLT)

"Remember the Alamo" was the cry of Texans fighting to ensure the sacrifice of their fellow countrymen wasn't in vain. One hundred eighty-two men helped delay Santa Anna's force at the Alamo so that the Texas army could rally at San Jacinto. And rally they did with their familiar battle cry.

Be honest, when's the last time you thought about the Alamo? It's been a while for me. It's easy to forget such great men who willingly gave their lives for others in the busyness of everyday life. But it's good to take time to remember the sacrifice that so many have made for the freedom of others.

Similarly, it's remembering what the Lord has done for us that keeps us close to him. God compares Israel to a baby in a field here in Ezekiel 16. He says that they were naked, alone, & destined to die until he stepped in. He saved them, clothed them, married them, loved them, & provided for them, even lavished blessings on them. But they quickly forgot the Lord's goodness to them & served other gods. They forgot where they came from & all that he had given them. They failed to remember.

I think the further we get from our conversion the easier it is to forget all that the Lord has done for us. We forget the gospel that we believe. We forget all that the Lord has done for us. We forget how he loved us when no one else did. How he took us up & bound our wounds. We forget about how he lavished his good gifts on us. We forget.

Just like we forget the Alamo, we forget about all that the Lord has done for us. And with this lapse in memory can come a lapse in faithfulness.

We learn from this passage that a key for us to waking with God, saturating ourselves with the gospel, & being who he wants us to be includes remembering. We need to remember who we were, where we come from, all that the Lord has done to save us, & all the richness he has brought to our lives.